The union of workers for UNRWA announced yesterday that they were planning a one-day strike in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank to protest cuts to aid and services.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after the union staged a temporary strike in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan to protest against low salaries and severe staff shortages.
“There have been ongoing discussions with the UN local administration in Gaza Strip regarding the issues, but they didn’t lead to any results,” union spokesman Suheil Al-Hindi told Ma’an.
Al-Hindi also claimed that the United Nations had turned down all of the union’s demands regarding wages, early retirement and employee classification during its General Assembly in New York City last week.
I the UN doesn’t respond to the employees’ demands, he warned, an open strike would take place in all UNRWA facilities.
A spokesperson for UNRWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Al-Hindi once again accused the UNRWA administration of not filling in nearly 500 vacant teaching positions, claiming the agency was cost-cutting.